Aston Martin at a crossroads: Will it be the Red Bull or McLaren scenario?
Aston Martin states there is still a way to go before the team and engine supplier Honda understand each other intuitively. Mike Krack thinks it will be fine, because the Japanese are “true racing fanatics.”
It’s hard to define. “It.” With one party there’s a spark, with another not at all. Then “it” happens. Or it doesn’t. That, in a nutshell, sums up the relationships between Red Bull and Honda, and earlier between McLaren and Honda.
Between McLaren and their then engine supplier, it never worked from the start. The two companies seemed not to understand each other; there was irritation—especially from the British side. In Japan, people mainly felt shame, because partly due to the Babylonian confusion of tongues, the results were dismal.
Red Bull understood Honda’s Japanese
Between Red Bull Racing and Honda, the “it” was there. The Austrians had patience with the Japanese, whose confidence had been severely shaken. By navigating cautiously and building trust, the smiles returned at Honda—and then the sporting success followed.
With Aston Martin, Honda now has a third partner in Formula 1, precisely at the moment when new regulations are being introduced in the sport. At first glance, there are parallels with the McLaren era: a complex power unit, Honda starting the project with many new people, and Aston Martin (just like McLaren back then) brimming with ambition.
It’s well known that Lawrence Stroll—the billionaire owner of Aston Martin—craves success. That’s one of the reasons he chose to operate as Honda’s works team. But will that actually happen quickly?
Honda and Aston Martin need time
Mike Krack, Chief Technical Officer of Aston Martin, admits there’s still a way to go: “The partnership is of course still young. But when you’ve had such a long relationship with your previous partner, you now have to get to know the people, learn their names, how you work together, what the expectations are, what the responsibilities are, and all those kinds of things.”
“But it was a good start. We did share some laughs. Our goal, of course, is to use this period to integrate as well as possible and learn how we can work together. But I have a lot of confidence. They are true racing fanatics, they are very open. You can challenge them. It’s really nice, and I look forward to continuing the relationship,” said Krack.
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